The present invention relates to an artificial heart for pumping blood through a circulatory system, and especially to such a system using an electromagnetic actuation of an impeller located in a housing.
In the past there have been a great variety of suggestions for implanting an artificial heart into a living human body, and this has presented any number of problems. The main problem has been in the design and construction of an actual pumping unit and drive system for the artificial heart. Many suggestions have been made for drive units, and these include devices powered by atomic energy, as well as piezoelectric devices and pumping units driven by electric motors. Electric motor driven pumps may include valve operating pumps, oscillating pumps, rotary pumps, or the like. There have also been electromagnetically driven pumps which generally have a coil wrapped around a core which is connected to a diaphragm for pumping the diaphragm to act as a flexible ventricle.
Finally, it has been suggested to make artificial hearts having pumping units powered by compressed gas and these can be used to compress diaphragms as well as bag-type artificial hearts in which a flexible polymer bag is enclosed within a rigid container so that compressed air can squeeze the flexible bag to cause the pumping action. Prior U.S. patents which show artificial hearts include the Willis Jr., patent for an Electromagnetically Actuated Artificial Heart, U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,616 and the Kurpanek, U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,002 for a Pulsatile Magneto-motive Artificial Heart. The Dockum, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,318 shows a Circulatory Assist Device and System, while the Holman Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,485 shows an Artificial Heart actuated with electromagnetic solenoids. The Runge, U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,854 shows an Electrically Activated Vascular Shunt or Left Ventricular Assist while Goldowsky, U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,930 shows a Rigid Vane Artificial Heart, U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,941 to Child shows a Method and Apparatus for pumping blood. In addition to these patents, there have been a number of suggestions for use in pumping various types of liquids with oscillating pumps such as shown in the Lawrence and Safley U.S. Pat. No. 23,094 for an Oscillating Pump and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,833 to Jinkawa for a Rotor Cooling Device in an Oscillating Type Compressor. Other patents may be seen in Child U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,221,548 and 4,210,409 for a Dual Action Solenoid Pump and in the Taboada, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,610 for a Constant Volume Seal-free Reciprocating Pump.
The present invention deals with one basic principle for an artificial heart, with different power sources to drive the heart. An electromagnetic drive unit is connected to a diaphragm or to a finger pump and operates on an oscillating pump oscillating an impeller in a sealed housing. The impeller may have a permanent magnet on the armature rotor driven by a series of stator coils producing an electric field in accordance with an electric drive circuit. The single impeller can be utilized to actuate four separate chambers in a housing.